At Monday’s kickoff keynote for the 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple focused—as you might expect, given the venue—on software. The company gave details on the latest updates and additions to its four operating systems: watchOS, iOS, tvOS, and OS X … sorry, macOS, as it will be known going forward. Most of the new features are aimed at making products such as the Apple Watch, the iPhone and iPad, and the AppleTV easier to use independently, together, and with an assortment of smart-home devices.

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Since WWDC is a developers conference, what Apple demonstrated was a collection of developer previews; nothing mentioned became available for download today. (The official releases will debut in the fall, though some will be available as public beta software in July.) The emphasis overall was on useful improvements to user experience and usability—from a much-improved watchOS to new fitness-tracking metrics for wheelchair users to a robust international SOS system to smart iCloud storage management to cross-device support for cut-and-paste. Some updates to iOS seem aimed in part at bringing the platform up to par with the most recent updates to Android, while others continue Apple’s focus on making its various platforms work more seamlessly together. The new messaging features (with greatly expanded emoji options among them, including automatic translation into the wordless language) are likely to excite younger users—while perhaps overwhelming some others—but overall this was a welcome set of software announcements with a focus on real-world usability.

Beyond the feature announcements, Tim Cook reaffirmed Apple’s commitment to user privacy, with some general info on the company’s use of “differential privacy” (which anonymizes user data while giving Apple’s engineers enough access to just enough user data), as well as education, with the announcement of a new Playgrounds app aimed at teaching kids the Swift programming language.

Here’s a quick look at everything we think is important from the event. We’ll be updating any relevant guides once we’ve tested the new software.

macOS (formerly OS X) 10.12

“OS X” is no more. As of the next major version of Apple’s desktop operating system, OS X will be renamed macOS to bring it into line with the naming of the company’s other platforms.

The theme of Apple’s next major desktop operating system, macOS 10.12 Sierra (the “OS X” name is being retired to bring the desktop OS’s naming convention in line with the names of Apple’s other platforms), is to establish closer integration with all of Apple’s devices while bringing a bit of polish and consistency to the desktop user experience. The rumored arrival of Siri on the Mac turned out to be not a rumor at all. Once you launch Siri from its home in the Dock, you’ll be able do most everything with the virtual assistant on macOS that you can already do on iOS—ask for movie listings, find locations, send iMessages, and more. On the desktop, you’ll be able to use your voice to ask Siri to search for files on your hard drive, refine those searches, and even drag the results to a document or email, or pin them in Notifications if you know you’ll need them later.

Another handful of features should make working across multiple Apple devices a lot more seamless. Auto Unlock promises to make signing on to a Mac faster if you own an Apple Watch. As long as your Watch, which is already authenticated to you and your Apple ID, is in range of your Mac, you won’t have to type in a password to log in to your Mac. Similarly, with the introduction of Apple Pay on the Web (coming to a variety of online retailers), you can click the purchase button on your Mac, and your iPhone will prompt you to confirm the purchase via TouchID on your iOS device. (Apple representatives mentioned Watch-based authentication in the keynote, but given that current WatchOS devices don’t have TouchID, we aren’t clear on how that will work.)

Another interesting cross-device announcement was a new Universal Clipboard that lets you copy content (text, images, and more) on your iPhone or iPad and paste it into any Mac app, and vice versa. Similarly, with iCloud Drive you can more easily make all your documents and data accessible on any Apple device you use.

Some other announced tweaks and additions are so simple and obvious, they seem like they should have been available for years now. Among them are the new Picture in Picture feature (which lets you pop a video out of an app or browser and move it around to more convenient locations on your screen in its own resizable window) and Tabs API (which allows the organization of any document-centric app’s windows into tabs, even if the developer hasn’t explicitly implemented a tabbed interface).

The new Picture in Picture function in macOS lets you pop videos out of app windows for more effective multitasking (or slacking off).

Apple will also be helping you make room on your hard drive by moving older files to iCloud, or deleting stuff—such as the contents of the Trash or old emails—that you’re no longer using. This should be welcome news to anyone with a smaller hard drive or SSD, though we’re curious to see how much control you’ll have over the options. Judging from the demo, the function seems to have some customizable settings, so users will be able to decide how often this happens or what items get moved or deleted, but Apple didn’t offer much detail about how it will work. We’re reserving judgment on this function until we learn more about how customization works and how granular it’ll be (we wouldn’t want to risk accidental data loss), but it’s a potentially useful feature for anyone who often runs out of space.

While macOS Sierra is available now as a developer preview, a public beta will debut next month; the official release will be downloadable for free via the Mac App Store this fall. It will support late-2009 and later MacBook and iMac models, as well as 2010 and later MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and Mac mini models.

iOS 10

For iOS 10, Apple announced 10 major updates.

The company announced 10 major updates for iOS 10, along with the myriad features and fixes we’re used to from WWDC. The new mobile OS will be available for free this fall, with a public beta available in July. It will support iPhones back to the iPhone 5, iPads back to the fourth-generation iPad and iPad mini 2, and the sixth-generation iPod touch.

As has been rumored for years, Apple is opening up its Siri voice assistant to third parties via an API. Some examples the company gave for things you’ll be able to do using Siri include sending messages through non-iMessage apps, booking rides through Lyft, or sending payments through Square Cash. This is a natural evolution that seems like it’ll be really useful as developers get on board.

The Messages app is seeing the biggest revamp, with a ton of new features ranging from live media links to handwriting to greatly expanded emoji, and an API that allows developers to add their own features.

Apple demonstrated a ton of new features coming to Messages, many of which are on a par with those introduced in Google’s Allo app at the 2016 I/O conference. They should let you more clearly communicate emotion—and just have more fun. You’ll be able to send messages in larger or smaller text, with handwriting, or even with full-screen effects. Emoji are larger, and swapping them in place of text after you’ve written something will be easier. Apple is also introducing an iMessage App Store, bringing the capability to send stickers or cash, order food, and do more from within Messages. Frankly, it looks like the once-simple app is becoming incredibly complicated, but at the same time, these features bring a lot of power to (according to Apple) iOS’s most-used app.

The lock screen has been redesigned with improved notifications that support 3D Touch interactions on capable devices. You can now simply raise the iPhone to wake it, too, rather than having to press any buttons (convenient considering how the Touch ID button on the iPhone 6s is often so fast to respond that you can unlock the phone unintentionally).

Two years after introducing the HomeKit smart-home system, Apple now has its own first-party Home app. Much like third-party options, it lets you control all your smart-home devices, including grouping them into scenes. It works with Siri, Control Center, and even interactive notifications. We appreciate Apple’s supporting its own standard in this way, and we’ll test this native app to see how well it does against third-party competitors.

The Maps app’s new dynamic view zooms in on quick turns, and out on long stretches of highway.

Several apps will see minor to significant redesigns. Photos, Maps, Music, and News all have updated looks and features. Music has a cleaner, easier-to-navigate appearance and displays your music’s lyrics, while News supports subscriptions and sections based on topics. And Maps sports the most interesting refresh in the group, with proactive search results that expand on the existing Nearby recommendations by suggesting destinations based on what the OS knows about where you’re going and what you’re doing (based on your calendar entries and daily habits), as well as a new turn-by-turn screen with improved pan and zoom features that let you search more effectively, keep up with what’s going on farther ahead in your route, and more. Maps also gains developer support that lets businesses incorporate apps. The example given on stage was the ability to find a restaurant, book it through OpenTable, hail a ride from Uber, and pay with Apple Pay, all in Maps. If all of that works as well as demonstrated, it’s good news. Maps is also getting a lot of little—but much-requested—features, such as the ability to pan and zoom the on-screen map while you’re navigating.

Apple also announced better integration with CarPlay (including turn-by-turn navigation), but that didn’t get a live demonstration, so the effect on real-world driving remains to be seen.

Music’s refresh seemed largely visual, with a reorganized interface. Representatives demonstrated new curated daily playlists and a revamped social network, as well, but their utility isn’t yet certain.

Some other cool updates include voicemail transcription and a VoIP function that treats third-party calling services like the native Phone app (so you can easily take your personal and business calls from your iPhone), plus a context-aware QuickType keyboard update.

Apple TV/tvOS

The AppleTV is receiving a number of software updates this year, along with a larger selection of apps. SlingTV, Fox Sports, and more are finally getting apps to bring the AppleTV more in line with other streaming services. The new tvOS also adds a Live Tune In feature, where you can quickly launch live TV streaming channels such as ESPN and Disney.

SlingTV is one of the new tvOS apps announced today.

An updated Remote app for iOS adds Siri support, touch-based control, and the ability to use your mobile device’s accelerometer and gyroscope for gaming. Siri has also gained the capability to include multiple themes in a single search, such as “Show me the best indie movies from the 1990s.”

The updated iOS Remote App includes Siri and Touchpad functionality.

Single Sign On lets you log in to your cable or satellite provider once and then automatically get authentication across all your content apps. (Currently, each app needs to individually authenticate with your TV or satellite provider.)

HomeKit

HomeKit, Apple’s system for integrating smart-home devices without the use of a hub, receives an important upgrade in iOS 10 in the form of an official app called Home. Prior to the Home app, users of HomeKit-compatible devices could integrate their products’ features in third-party apps, with different levels of success and support. Now, with an Apple-designed app, you should experience better and more-uniform support of device features. The Home app allows you to access all your HomeKit devices, including smart door locks, doorbell cameras, smart plugs, light switches, and more (Apple claims nearly 100 different products), from one place, rather than opening all the individual apps for those devices.

The new Home app puts smart-home devices and scenes under one interface.

In addition to device control, you’ll be able to create and access scenes, such as “Good Morning” or “Good Night,” from within the app. You can trigger the scenes either by tapping the scene button in the app or by using your voice via Siri. For example, a “Good Morning” scene can turn on your lights, adjust your thermostat, and start your coffee. A “Good Night” scene could turn off all your home’s lights and lock the front door. Apple has made it easier to get to your smart-home devices by adding Home to the phone’s Control Center. The Home app also puts your device notifications, including video from security cameras, in the Notifications Center from the lock screen.

HomeKit can integrate notifications from smart devices, such as security cameras, in the Notifications Center.

Though HomeKit is technically hubless, if you have an Apple TV, you can use it as a gateway for remote access to your HomeKit devices when you’re away from home.

The Home app will be available on both the iPhone and iPad, and it will also be supported by the Apple Watch (which reps described as being able to function as a whole-home remote).

watchOS 3

Improvements in watchOS 3 include a streamlined iOS-like Control Center.

watchOS 3, which will be available for all Apple Watches in the fall, launches apps and lets you navigate between them more quickly, offers streamlined iOS-like control of settings and quicker watch-face changes, and makes sending and receiving messages easier. In other words, watchOS 3 makes the Apple Watch deliver more on its original promise of at-a-glance utility.

The most obvious improvement is that your frequently used apps—both Apple’s own and third-party—can update themselves in the background, launch with hardly any delay, and show updated information right away. Launch delay is probably the most common complaint about the Apple Watch, and the improvements (at least as shown in Apple’s demonstration) are significant. Switching between watch faces is now a left-to-right swipe instead of a force-touch and scroll, so you can quickly switch between, say, a health-focused Activity ring face and more traditional dials. Apple has added gestural text entry, so you can more easily send or respond to messages from the Watch face. A new Dock of recently used apps replaces the dial-a-friend spinner in the current watchOS, and a swipe-from-the-bottom Control Center (along the lines of the one in iOS) looks to be much more useful—and more usable—than finding the Settings app. Fitness tracking has become more inclusive with the addition of profiles that, among other things, recognize wheelchair users (one of many straightforward usability improvements that caught our eye).

Multilanguage gestural text (“Scribble”) entry should make for easier message composition and replies right from the watch face.

Also announced was a new SOS feature that lets you call 911 (or corresponding international emergency services) with a press of the Watch’s side button, so long as you’re connected to LTE or Wi-Fi via a mobile device. The SOS function sends your location and shares basic medical information you’ve chosen to store on your phone. It isn’t a flashy innovation, but it is a smart use of the technology at hand.

Hardware

Apple didn’t announce any new hardware at WWDC 2016, so we’ll have to hold on until later in the year for updated MacBooks, displays, or AirPort gear.

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